On a bleak moonscape mountain, half of France away, hundreds of cycling gourmets will pay their respects on Thursday on the 50th anniversary of tragic Tom Simpson's death.

And 335 miles from a poignant ceremony, Chris Froome plans to unfurl his own tribute to Britain's Tour de France martyr on the Col de Peyresourde.

Simpson, the first Briton to wear the hallowed yellow jersey Froome currently wears with pride — and the first cyclist to win BBC's Sports Personality of the Year — died at the age of 29 on the brutal lunar landscape of Mount Ventoux in 1967.

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British cyclist Tom Simpson died after fainting during the 1967 Tour (Image: AFP)

Britain's Chris Froome pulls on the leader's yellow jersey on the podium after stage 11 of the Tour (Image: REUTERS)

Dehydrated and exhausted, the son of a Durham coal miner was barely half a mile from the summit of Ventoux in stifling heat when he collapsed — one of only three riders to die in cycling's most unforgiving race.

Va Va Froome pulled off arguably his greatest stage win on Le Tour in 2013, after he attacked near the memorial on the hillside marking the spot where Simpson fell.

And he is well aware of the heritage he is preserving when the peloton swings into the Pyrenees.

Froome said: “Tom Simpson left a huge legacy and I would like to believe a lot of British riders in the Tour de France have built on it.

“Even though the Tour does not go up Mount Ventoux this year, it's obviously a place where I have got a lot of special memories of my own, and I would imagine there will be thousands of people going up to the memorial to honour him.”

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The riders pass a field of sunflowers during stage 11 of the Tour de France (Image: Getty Images)

Long before the advent of marginal gains was enshrined in cycling's lexicon, Simpson was forever pushing boundaries — he made his saddle out of his wife's leather handbag — but his death also unmasked the sport's darker side.

Race doctor Pierre Dumas revealed amphetamines were found in the back pocket of Simpson's jersey, and at the foot of Ventoux he took a swig of brandy to tame a stomach upset.

Back at the scene of his biggest Tour de France frustration, at least Froome will not be bumping into his old rival Sir Bradley Wiggins in the Pyrenees.

Allez Wiggo has made a personal pilgrimage to the 'Beast of Provence' to pay his respects to Simpson's memory, leaving His Froomeness to concentrate on defending his 18-second lead on stage 12, a tank-emptying 136-mile slog from Pau to Peyragudes.

Five years ago, Froome looked nailed-on for his his first stage win on Le Tour before Team Sky high command ordered him back to pace overall race leader Wiggins up the Peyresourde mountain.

If it still rankles with him, he insists he has “no regrets” and that he made the “right decisions” in an episode which opened up seismic fault lines with Wiggins.

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With Mark Cavendish back home on the Isle of Man beginning his comeback from a broken shoulder blade on a turbo trainer, and Peter Sagan kicked out of the race for causing his injury, German powerhouse Marcel Kittel has little competition in bunch sprints.

Kittel reeled off his fifth stage win of Le Tour like he was picking fruit, becoming only the second man in 32 years — along with Cavendish — to win five in a single race.

His latest show of strength was cruel on Poland's Maciej Bodnar, whose heroic breakaway in the last 15 miles fell just 250 yards short.

Meanwhile, Britain's Simon Yates has been fined 100 Swiss francs for failing repeatedly to sign on punctually before the start of each stage, while Froome's Team Sky road captain Luke Rowe has taken over the dreaded 'lanterne rouge' wooden spoon — in last place on the GC.